Monthly Archives: January 2011
Medicine Cabinet Makeover Naturally- Cold/Flu
| January 26, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Natural Health |
Cold and flu season is in full swing. There are a lot of great natural ways to help shorten your cold and flu. Here are a few of the ways.
Aromatherapy-
Steam alone can help break up congestion and help relieve some symptoms, adding essential oil can make it work even more. Eucalyptus and thyme can help loosen mucus and heal your throat. Tea tree oil can help with dry air passages. Peppermint can also be helpful for your cold and flu symptoms.
You can use the essential oils in several ways, add them to a humidifier or vaporizer, place a few drops on a handkerchief and keep it under your pillow while you sleep, place the herbs or oils in a bowl of boiling water and place a towel over the bowl to create a steam tent. You can also place the oil in a hot bath.
Homeopathic-
There are many homeopathic options for colds and flus but here are a few of my favorites.
Boiron Oscillococcinum
For colds try Boiron Coldcalm.
Hyland’s Cold Tablets with Zinc 
Boiron Chestal cough syrup
Herbs/Supplements-
In my house we make a drink out of elderberry extract, colloidal silver, oil of oregano, and Emergen-C Immune Defense it’s not the best tasting drink but it works.
Here is some info on breaking a fever naturally.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. And even though my nickname is often nurse Lisa, I’m not even a nurse. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting natural remedies. Also I’m an Amazon Associate so I make a small amount if you buy from one of the links, this does not effect my views.
Medicine Cabinet Makeover Naturally- Headaches
| January 16, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Natural Health |
I’m very lucky to have grown up with a mom that has a love for natural medicine. As long as I can remember my mom -who happens to be an RN- would give me natural remedies when I was sick and rarely turning to traditional medicine for anything other than my asthma. My mom and I lovingly call this voodoo medicine, as many make fun of us for it. Mind you we have turned many into believers. Now I want to pass on what I have learned. In this first part we will be talking about headaches.
HeadachesWith natural medicine you don’t want to just treat the symptom, you want to treat the cause. Headaches can be caused by a number of things, stress, food, allergies, and other health problems. If you have chronic headaches you should tell your doctor to make sure there is nothing else going on.
Finding the cause can be hard but a good idea is keeping a headache journal. Keep track of food you eat and when. Also right down the times you have headaches. Look for patterns. Some common headache trigger foods are MSG, nitrates (cured meats), dyes, preservatives, chocolate, and common allergens. Once you find the trigger do your best to avoid it. Also if your headaches are located around your sinuses then it’s likely allergies, I will have allergy info soon.
For treating the symptoms of your headache there are many options, here are a few.
Aromatherapy-
Peppermint oil and lavender oil (used together or separately) are wonderful for treating headaches. To use them you can use a oil diffuser and/or apply them to the body. If using oils on the skin be sure to mix them with a carrier oil. Apply the oil(s) to your temples and/or backs of your wrists and massage lightly.
Acupressure-
Acupressure is great because you just need your hands. You will find the pressure point in between you thumb and index finger, in the fleshy part, of both hands. This video will help show you where to push and how.
Hyland’s Headache Tablets
For migraines I keep Hyland’s Migraine Relief
Herbal/Supplements-
These remedies are most helpful to reduce how ofter you have headaches, when taken daily and are good for chronic headaches.
For migraines:
Feverfew, ginkgo biloba, cayenne, magnesium, vitamin B2, and 5-HTP. Each of these has shown promise in helping reduce how often and/or how severe your migraines are, when taken daily. I recommend trying one at a time for a few weeks to see if they help. If you start all at once you won’t know which are working and which ones aren’t.
For tension headaches:
The above may also help but 5-HTP is the most recommended.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. And even though my nickname is often nurse Lisa, I’m not even a nurse. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting natural remedies.
Green Decluttering
| January 14, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Mom's Carnival |
We all have to much stuff. Which means more time cleaning and less time enjoying the people we love. If you haven’t already I recommend you watch The Story of Stuff before moving on to the rest of the post.
So now that we have covered why we need to declutter, now we should talk about how and how to keep it green. First research where you can take your stuff. With green decluttering we want to have as little trash as possible. So here is what to do with your stuff when you are done.
If it has personal information be sure to shred the info. It then can be used in compost, for pet bedding material, for starting fires if you have a fire place, or recycled. If it is not personal and has a blank side use it for scratch paper and then recycle or compost it. For everything else just recycle or compost it.
If still wearable there are many options. You could look for a consignment shop or have a garage sale and make a bit of money off of it. You can help others and donate the clothing to a clothes closet (many churches and shelters have these so look around) or donate to a thrift store like Goodwill. If they are kids clothes and you have younger kids you can hold on to them for your other kids to grow into, though this is not always the best option if the kids are picky about their clothes. If they won’t wear the clothes there is not any poin holding on to the items.
If the clothing is not wearable they can be made in to rags, t-shirts can be made into reusable grocery bags or even yarn, and some clothing can even be recycled. Check all your options before throwing clothes away.
If still usable check for toy drives, have a garage sale or donate to a thrift store. There aren’t a lot of options for broken toys. You can try and fix them and then do the things above, recycle any pieces you can but sadly there just aren’t a lot of options here. Be sure to teach your kids to care for their things so this is not as big of an issue, though broken toys happened to even very careful children.
Most things can be sold or donated. More and more places called reuse centers are popping up around the country. These centers take everything from clothing to leftover building materials. Know what is around you before you start decluttering. Also Freecycle.org is a great option to help connect you to people that are looking for what you need to get rid of.
If you have old chemicals or other hazardous waste to get rid of be sure to contact your city to ask where you can properly dispose of those items.
The important thing to remember when decluttering is the best thing to do with your stuff is donate, then recycle, and trash should be a last resort. Click here for a list of places to recycle things your city may not take. Now that you know why you need less stuff and what to do with it, go forth and declutter!
This is my post for the Green Mom’s Carnival, which is hosted Amber at Strocel.com this month. The carnival will be posted January 27th so be sure to check out the other posts.
Weekend Recap
| January 10, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
My family has been trying the last couple of years to make Christmas more meaningful. For the last two Christmases part of our gifts have been a trip to do something together. Last year we went to the Flaming Lips New Years Eve concert/party and this year we went to see the OKC Thunder play. The memories we are making will last much longer than any gifts. So here is a little recap of our trip.
My husband and I needed to do our month grocery shopping- our local town is lacking in organic/real food so we shop just once a month in Norman- and he needed to take the GRE. We decided to not waste gas and do it all the same weekend. We left right after Justin got off work and did all of our grocery shopping, other than the cold stuff, and went to eat at my favorite little cafe, the Pink Elephant and then ran some errands like recycling our glass (glass isn’t recycled in my town). We stayed the night at a hotel in Norman and early the next morning Justin took the GRE in Oklahoma City.
After he got back we packed up and did a little shopping we needed to do and then had lunch with one of my best friends, who lives up in Norman, and her boyfriend. We had a great time with them and after ran a couple of more errands. A little bit later I heard from my parents that they were heading up to OKC so we headed that way as well. We checked in to the beautiful Skirvin Hotel and hung out in the hotel for a little while.
Once my brother and his friend got there as well and everyone had gotten into their rooms, we headed out for dinner. One of the nice things about the Skirvin is their limo service. We took the limo over to the restaurant had a quick dinner and walked over to the Ford Center. The game was wonderful, the Thunder won but it was a pretty close game which made it exciting. We all really want to go to more games now.
After the game we headed back to the hotel to enjoy their nice Red Piano Bar. After spending some time there we got the limo to take us over to Mickey Mantels, where the Thunder like to hang out after the game. Sadly to many people know that now and it was full so we went to the Skky Bar that was next door. After awhile there we decided to head back to the quieter and more relaxing Red Piano Bar.
While my dad and husband waiting in the cold for the limo my mom, brother, and my brother’s friend waited in the little lobby area of Mickey Mantel’s. I didn’t find out until later but we were standing with Nick Collison of the OKC Thunder. He was just chatting with some other people waiting out there and seemed really nice. Once we got back to the hotel we sat, chatted and had some drinks in the hotel lobby for awhile. They had someone playing the piano and it was a nice relaxing end to the night.
We all had such a great time and loved to spend the time together, and also enjoyed the activities. It was much more meaningful than some gift picked from a list. I encourage everyone to think about doing something like this for Christmas next year. It doesn’t have to be something this big, I know we are lucky to get to do things like this, but any activity can be fun. Trips to the zoo, dinner out, camping (though I would wait for warmer weather haha), whatever you can afford and you enjoy doing. Memories are so much better than stuff!
Resisting the Green Dragon
| January 8, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
If you live in a conservative and religious community you may have already heard people calling environmentalism a false religion. There is now a group selling a course to help you resist what they are calling the “Green Dragon.” On their page they have some interesting claims.
“Environmentalism has become a new religion.
Environmentalism’s policies are devastating to the world’s poor.
Environmentalism threatens the sanctity of life.
Environmentalism is targeting our youth.
Environmentalism’s vision is global.”
Dr. E. Calvin Beisner said in a press release. “Today’s environmentalism isn’t just the conservationist belief that every generation should use the Earth wisely so that it benefits not only itself but also future generations. Environmentalism isn’t a neutral set of ideas that can be tacked onto the Christian faith without theological compromise. Instead, environmentalism promotes its own world view and its own doctrines of God, creation, humanity, sin, and salvation. And those doctrines aren’t Biblical.”
As someone who was raised in a Christian home I don’t see how environmentalism is it’s own religion or goes against the bible. The bible calls Christians to care for the earth.
Numbers 35:33-34 says, “You shall not pollute the land in which you live… You shall not defile the land which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites.”
When talking to people that say environmentalism doesn’t fit with Christianity I also use this analogy.
God is our father and the earth is like our bedroom. Do father’s like it when their children don’t care for their bedroom? Doesn’t it make him happy when his child’s room is clean and taken care of? It’s a sign of respect when you take care of gifts from people. The earth is the most amazing gift anyone could give and we should show God respect by caring for it.
Religious or not we all have to live here and it will be a much better for all of us if it’s clean. What are your thoughts on this subject? Have you ever had anyone say any of this to you?
Thanks to Barbara at The Earth is Not a Trash Can for bring this up!
Photo Credits: Pasukaru76
Upcoming Interview
| January 5, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I’m going to be a guest on Spheres of Influence next Thursday (1/13). It’s a virtual roundtable and this month’s topic is The Power of One. It will be at 1:00 pm-2:00 pm Eastern/noon-1:00 pm Central/10:00 pm-11:00 pm Pacific. You can find more information on Spheres of Influence.
Also if you want to join in send an email with COURAGE in the subject line to DrSarah(a)ourspheresofinfluence(dot)com to register and get the call in number.
My New Website
| January 3, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Don’t worry I will still be running this site but I started a new one as well. My new site is called Green Oklahoma. It’s a green news and resource site for Oklahoma. I have been working on this site for a few months now. I had some help from several great friends that beta tested for me. Thanks to all of those people!!
Anyway I hope you will go check it out and if you know anyone in Oklahoma that would enjoy it pass it on! Also I will be using guest writers so if you are in Oklahoma and have an idea for a post let me know.
Website: http://www.greenokla.com
Twitter @greenoklahoma
Facebook- Green Oklahoma
Goals for 2011
| January 3, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I have been stressed to much this past year. So my goals are things that I feel will help reduce that stress. I want to find more peace in my life and spend more time enjoying things and less time stressing.
My Goals
1. Read more. I have a long list of books I would like to read, so I want to set aside more time to read.
2. Get the housework mostly done the first half of the week and computer work the second. Right now I seem to always be behind in both.
3. Keep the freezer stocked. I want to do a better job of keeping pizzas and other quick foods stocked in the freezer for when I don’t feel well or we need a quick meal.
4. Keep some pre-written posts. Again this would be good for when I don’t feel well or just get busy.
5. Declutter. I did a pretty good job with this last year but I need to do more. I have to much stuff and someone else could make better use of it.
6. Reduce waste. This is a big one. I feel guilt with waste so if we have less I will have less guilt. Of course I shouldn’t have guilt anyway but this is easier than fixing that issue haha.
7. Lose weight, yup the stereotypical goal. I lost 30 lbs last year but I still have more I want to lose. I’m at a good weight health wise but there are some clothes I would like to fit in again.
I will touch on these and others more as the year goes on. Have you set goals for this year? Do you think you will stick with them?
Christmas Wrap-up
| January 1, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I wanted to post this right after Christmas but got busy and then lost my usb cable to my camera. I still can’t find it and who knows when I will (most likely right after I post this!), so I’m going to go ahead and post without all the pictures.
My Christmas started with a trip to Tulsa after my husband (a school teacher) got off of work the Tuesday before Christmas. It was a fun trip but far to short. We went to the Tulsa Zoo (which was almost empty because it was very cold, as you can see from the picture of me below), the Gilcrease Museum, ate at a yummy eco-friendly Mexican cafe in downtown Tulsa called Elote, got cupcakes at Kupcakz, did some shopping, and on the way home stopped at the Oklahoma Aquarium. Here are some pictures from the trip.
On Christmas Eve I went to my cousin’s house for a few hours with my parents in the afternoon. Later in the afternoon I pre-cooked some of the food for Christmas with my in-laws and then my husband and I went to church with my family that night. After church we drove around the park to look at Christmas lights.
Christmas morning Justin woke up not feeling well but we still went to my parents for a bit. My dad made homemade waffles and we took champagne for mimosas. We opened gifts and hung out for awhile and then come back home for time with my in-laws.
We opened gifts with my in-laws and I cooked lunch for everyone. Since Justin wasn’t feeling well we just relaxed for the day and he napped a large part of the evening. I got Epic Mickey for Christmas so I played that and watched Christmas movies. Oh and of course ate junk food. Here are some pictures from our Christmas. The first two are my dog Patience in her Christmas collar (which she only wears for Christmas pictures haha), the first is her eating one of her Christmas treats. The last picture are some gingerbread cookies I made.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year so far!
